Leadership (Abuja)
2 October 2008
editorial
World Bank President Robert Zoellick accurately captured the plight of many poor families in Nigeria, in a statement at the ongoing United Nations Special Session in New York. While announcing the bank's $1.1 billion expansion of its malaria-fighting programmes in Africa, he said in part: "Malaria is a crushing development for poor people and developing countries… Malaria preys on the poor and keeps them poor. Poverty prevents people from buying bed-nets to prevent malaria and medicine to cure it. When people are struck by the disease, parents miss work, children miss school, and malaria emergencies plunge people into debt from which they can't recover."
To the World Bank boss' statement could be added: In Nigeria, it costs N4, 000 - N10, 000 to cure one victim of malaria, yet hardly a week passes without malaria attacking at least one person in each family. Most of the people are poor and live in surroundings that serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Luckily, the World Bank President also indicated that priority will be given to Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo which, he said, account for 30-40% of deaths from malaria in Africa.
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